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Feature Story

Heritage Oaks Golf Course ~ Honor Roll

Nick Ciattei

The City of Harrisonburg has become one of the great college towns in the
Commonwealth of Virginia. James Madison University, Eastern Mennonite
University, and Bridgewater College just outside the city limits all add to the charm
and character of this budding region. The city operates one of the real golf course
gems in the entire Shenandoah Valley. Heritage Oaks, a challenging and scenic
golf course, is set right within the city limits in a park setting. The course has been
honored by winning “Best in the Valley” by the Daily News Record readers multiple
times.

Heritage Oaks plays to a par 70 and has
four sets of tees that range from 4500
yards from the forward tees to over 6300
yards from the tips. Players of all levels
really enjoy this course. Architect Bill
Love incorporated two distinct styles of
design into the layout. Heritage Oaks
starts out with a very British Open feel as
the first four holes are heavily influenced
by the links style. On some holes you Hole 4 Par 4

will find the occasional heather grass to
dodge. The first and second hole measure as the two longest par 4s on the entire
course. You can take advantage of a quirky feature at Heritage Oaks of passing the
clubhouse again before playing the par 3 third. If you forgot to grab a sleeve of
balls at the pro shop, get them now. The first par 5, the seventh, offers a real birdie
possibility if you can avoid a creek that runs throughout the hole. The par 3 eighth
reveals the best of its kind at Heritage Oaks where a well placed tee shot must carry
a small pond to a narrow green. The front nine closes with a tough uphill, dogleg
right 4 par. An extra stick from the fairway safeguards a pretty good bet.

The back nine begins with a pair of modest par 4s before things start to tighten up
on the twelfth through fifteenth holes. The par 4 twelfth plays from an elevated
tee with plenty of forest at each side of the fairway to avoid. A hybrid or long iron
gives the best option off the tee. An amphitheater of towering oaks completely
surrounds thirteen, one of my favorite simple straight-forward par 3s. The 386-yard
par 4 fourteenth earns the award for perhaps being the toughest hole on the inward
nine with plenty of trees protecting each side of the landing area. A large lateral
hazard waste area gobbles up wayward balls to the left and another large hazard
protects the front of the green. The links-style feel returns at the risk-reward par
5 sixteenth. The sharp dogleg right offers up plenty of options. A fairway wood
over an environmental area could lead to a possible eagle putt. After the par 3
seventeenth, another reachable par 5 closes out the back nine at Heritage Oaks.
These holes allow for some good scoring opportunities as you wrap up your round.

The first rounds of golf were played at Heritage Oaks on September 29, 2001. Head
Pro David Johns and Superintendent Stuart Scott have shaped the course since the

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